Philanthropist Brea Weiss has been appointed new chair of the AdventHealth Foundation Central Florida Executive Board. Weiss is the first female to hold this position and shared how honored she is to succeed her lifelong friend Dick Batchelor, who had served as chair since 2006.
“Handing off the baton to Brea makes me feel very good about where the board is headed,” Batchelor said. “Her passion and vision will serve AdventHealth well in the years ahead.”
Weiss has a long history with AdventHealth and AdventHealth Foundation Central Florida. Currently, she serves as board chair of AdventHealth for Children, and previously spent several years on staff with the AdventHealth Foundation Central Florida. She is joined in her philanthropy by her husband, Al Weiss, a former Walt Disney Company executive.
“My first passion will always remain with the children in our hospitals,” said Weiss. “But as I look at the care we provide to them, I cannot help but realize we are serving the next generation of adults too. What better place than AdventHealth, a health care leader in Florida and across the nation, to use philanthropy as a vehicle to accelerate whole-person care?”
Weiss helped secure two eight-figure fundraising gifts that led to the creation of the Walt Disney Pavilion at AdventHealth for Children.
Weiss calls herself the “official cheerleader for AdventHealth for Children,” but she is so much more. Her mentor, former AdventHealth executive Des Cummings, calls Weiss a “passionary” for children.
As a breast cancer survivor, Weiss is also a dedicated advocate for women’s health.
“No one should have to leave the market for care,” Weiss said. “As a breast cancer survivor, I was incredibly thankful I had a world-class surgeon and medical team that made it possible for me to be here today.”
“AdventHealth is thrilled for Brea to assume this leadership position,” said David Collis, president of the AdventHealth Foundation Central Florida. “And we are deeply grateful to Dick Batchelor, for his innumerable contributions through the years.”
Learn more about the AdventHealth Foundation Central Florida at AdventHealthFoundation.com/CF